Silver Lining [Mick Schumacher]

Mad World

"Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow."
Mad World; Demi Lovato

-

Harper Bournes, the daughter of Alistair Bournes and Loren Schmidt, was just seated in her room, looking through her neat notes about the reign of Nero. She was merely a month away from the exam period, so she decided to spend some time at home soil to be perfectly prepared before returning to Rome, where she studied far away from the spotlight. Constant traveling between the US and Italy was a bit of a stretch, but Harper was aware of it. Never had she felt a single pinch of regret, even during frequent jet lag sessions.

Even the best actress that Loren Schmidt objectively was, couldn't cover her disappointment the moment all her ambitions with Harper ended up as useful as a chocolate teapot real quick. It never crossed younger Schmidt's mind to follow the same path as Hestia once did. The art of showbusiness wasn't her forte, she never showed interest in pursuing a career in any sort of arts. Just like her father, Harper was an academic type of person, yearning for knowledge. Something Loren, the public's sweetheart, struggled to comprehend. As time went by, they had less and less to talk about, their life roads turning in different directions. Unlike Hestia, Harper had a father and a sister to shelter her, when her mother felt like a stranger you pass on the street in the rush of a day. When Alistair and Loren parted ways, he legally changed Harper's surname as a way of protection from the intrusive world. It deepened the already profound foss between a mother and a daughter yet Alistair saw it worth the sacrifice even if it was riping his heart to pieces. Leaving America for her studies was therefore liberating for Harper. No one wanted anything from her, no one had expectations she would have to live up to. She was her own person doing her own thing. She found herself, her purpose in life. Something her older sister was still hunting for as the desired X mark on her map was yet to appear.

Harper was about to turn the page of her notebook when her phone screen started lightening up every other second. She was doing her best to keep her mind concentrated, but the avalanche of notifications was nowhere near the end. Harper was caught off guard, this had never happened to her before. The girl sighed in frustration, pushing the notebook away while grabbing the phone, her mind being all over the place now. Her eyebrows furrowed as she was reading the overwhelming amount of messages one by one. All of them exactly sounded the same, which was already alarming. They were all about Hestia and about...keeping her in their prayers? Harper raised from her chair, leaving the room with the screen still in her face.

"Dad, have you heard from Hestia recently?" Harper finally made it into the living room to meet up with her father, firmly holding the phone in her hand, her heart thumping like an enormous drum. Alistair was in the middle of sorting his library, one of his most beloved activities, when his daughter stormed into the room.

Alistair glanced up, noticing Harper's facial expression immediately. There was no difference between the color of her face and the purely white wall right behind her, "Did something happen?" He was a master of reading people as if they were books on his shelves. Plus, he had known his daughter for a handful of years already.

Harper silently handed him the phone when he approached her with worry painted all over his face, not trusting her voice at this particular moment. She didn't want to think about the worst-case scenarios, but her mind boosted with anxiety was unstoppable, "Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about Hestia. I'm keeping her in my prayers. I hope she will be ok," he read one of the messages out loud, with a frown, not being any wiser than his daughter. Harper inhaled sharply, holding back tears with the last willpower available in her system. Nothing makes you more hopeless than the whole world knowing something about your loved one except for you.